US sanctions imposed in response to Russia's involvement in eastern Ukraine seemed to fail in avoiding military conflict in the region and Russia's annexation of Crimea.
The situation over the past seven months has not been encouraging. Not-so-subtle threats of military clout and Russian plans to invade eastern Ukraine have increased, as has pro-Russian rebel support there.
However, it seems that the most powerful force of all is globalisation. In our world of a growing worldwide economic web, it's only logical that Russia's moves would have a knock-on effect worldwide.
Because of Russia's meddling, the global investment community have become aware of the ongoing conflict. They seem to have judged that Russia is now a risky place to put their money, and that has done even more damage to Russia's economy than the sanctions the United States and Europe have put in placed
What's interesting is that this could theoretically apply to other acts of international aggression in the future. Since the first world war, economists and political scientists have had a theory that blending all national economies into a global economy would not only make us all richer, but also make war more economically painful and thus less likely to happen.